Saudi Arabia is poised to become one of the world’s largest consumers of timber, fuelled by several ‘mega’ and ‘giga’ projects, including the NEOM, the Red Sea Project, Trojena and Qiddiya – which could see the market for timber-based products reach more than US $4.1 billion by 2029.
Earlier this year, Wood Central revealed that the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates are pushing to switch from concrete-and-steel-based construction to timber. While the number of timber buildings in the ground is small, imports of plywood and other timber products have tripled to Dubai and Riyadh in the last 12 months alone.
The rush has led hungry exporters, builders, and developers to take notice. Last month, exhibitors from 30 countries, including China—looking to dominate regional timber trade through the Belt and Road initiative—Canada, Egypt, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, the UAE, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam, took part in the Saudi Wood Expo—the first to be held in the Kingdom.
“Saudi Wood Expo is a pivotal event for the woodworking industry, attracting local and international companies to build partnerships,” said Muhammed Kazi, one of the organisers. “The expo not only showcased cutting-edge products but facilitated collaborations that drive industry growth when demand for doors, windows, furniture manufacturing and interior design is at an all-time high.”
It comes as Saudi Arabia has emerged as the Middle East’s fastest-growing market for mass timber, with the Kingdom now competing with the UAE to become the region’s “green power.” In February, Wood Central covered a report published by Dr Danish Ahmed, calling for the Kingdom to use mass timber construction systems, specifically cross-laminated timbers, to bring the LINE to fruition:
Dr Ahmed, who belongs to the Department of Civil Engineering at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University in Saudi Arabia, said, “The structural analysis and design results (of the report) indicated that the CLT building was acceptable in terms of lateral deformation or drift under a critical combination of lateral and gravity loads.” Before adding that, CLT was “an excellent alternative material for buildings in LINE that aims to be zero-net carbon’s city.”
- To learn more about timber projects in Saudi Arabia, click here for Wood Central’s interview with Weathertex, now kitting out 1500 module houses, home to thousands of construction executives, professionals and consultants using Australian weatherboards, wall panels and cladding made from reconstituted hardwoods.